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“The real problem is not that we are different, nor that we disagree and have conflict. It's that most of us automatically view conflict as something negative rather than as a tool God can use to help us better understand ourselves and one another.

--Robert Ricciardelli”

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The frightening part of our current world is not suicide bombers and Islamic extremists. The frightening part is that, simply due to population growth, Muslims will take over and become the dominant culture of the world sometime in the next 30-40 years. That’s what the numbers say. Check it out.

Now, admittedly, this comes across as something of a scare tactic. But, the scarier part is that population controls instituted on industrial nations via the UN, Planned Parenthood and so forth will easily make this a reality. Just remember the math. Our apathy and religious lukewarmness makes us a ready target for a growing, dynamic culture. All that has to happen is a lack of population growth. As the video shows in other countries, the lack of growth is always filled from somewhere else, and Muslims already have a plan to make it happen in America. And, unless trends change, it will happen here.

Monday, May 25, 2009

Did you know that Arab states are trying to create a unified currency? They still have a long way to go, of course, but the discussions have been going on for a while now. Similar economic structures, as well as currencies already pegged to the same standard (usually the dollar) will make that easier. But, as usual, the inter-state bickering is causing negotiations to falter. One important point to consider:

Inflation rates vary dramatically and fiscal deficits, which have been absent since the start of the oil boom in 2003, are about to re-emerge in some countries this year.

It seems the economic downturn that has struck the world is about to overtake even the oil barons of our day. Perhaps it was just a matter of time, though. Islamic based banks have been much more stable than their western counterparts. Many believe this is due to the constraints of Sharia Law on banking. The outcomes of giving Islam more control of money and banking are large. But, one particular concern should raise red flags all over the world:

Many of the scholars and clerics who sit on these Islamic Banking Advisory Boards come from the moreradical elements of Islam, and the educational centers that promote and encourage violence against the West. According to the Brussels Journal, these groups have openly expressed hopes of returning Islam to Europe “as a conqueror” either by preaching and ideological change or “by the sword”.

Those who refuse to believe there is an Islamic agenda to take over and rule should pull their heads out of the sand. The Illinois Business Law Journal says this change to a religious based banking structure would be a good thing. Would you like to know how widespread the influence of Sharia law is on western banking? There are already Sharia compliant hedge funds, partnered with the largest publicly traded hedge fund manager. London and the Netherlands are becoming centers of Islamic banking. And, of course, you can always visit the Islamic Bank USA website.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Chinese banks' surge in lending to support the government's stimulus package is leading to excessive risk taking, said the Fitch ratings agency.

The Fitch agency’s main point is the focus is on short term profits, instead of long term stability. Isn’t that what got the West in so much financial trouble? Perhaps the Obama administration should take a lesson on the subject of short term fixes. If the financial industry is beginning to recognize these signs, maybe the US government should, too, and stop borrowing to solve the credit crunch. If excessive credit got us into this mess, maybe someone should realize that even more credit is not likely to get us out.

Speaking of President Obama and financial solutions, people are getting pretty hacked off at him. Congress is mad. The average John Doe is mad. Why? Job losses in the auto industry, for one. Chrysler and GM are cutting jobs left and right. You might also consider the following two headlines from Reuters:

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

On Mother’s Day, Eugenia Gardos made a tabletop shrine to her recently deceased mother — surrounding her photograph with silk roses, a small white rosary cross, two votive candles and a prayer card of Senor de los Milagros, the patron saint of Peru.

The next day, May 11, she added her son's picture to the shrine for the dead.

"The first time he left for Iraq, when they would read the lists of the dead on the news, we used to hold our breath, praying he wasn't on it," his mother said. "I don't understand how he could have died this way. I just don't understand it."

Sgt. Galdos had emigrated with his family from Mollendo, Peru, as a child and had been a U.S. citizen since high school. His mother, two older brothers and older sister recalled how he used to hand out candy to children in Iraq the same way he always did in Paterson — never making a trip to the corner bodega without a group of neighborhood children tailing behind, knowing he would buy them candy or a soda.

"We were all here at home," Carlos Bueno, Sgt. Galdos's father, said. "I was getting ready to go to bed when I heard screaming downstairs. I ran downstairs and everyone had thrown themselves to the floor, thrashing around, screaming."

Bueno said he does not feel bitterness toward the man accused in the shootings, whom he described as "mentally ill."

"We want people to know we're proud of our son's Army, but if my son had died in war we would be able to handle that," he said. "But not to die in this manner."

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Friday, May 15, 2009

For those who think the United States is alone in it’s immigration troubles, you should check out Italy’s immigration situation. Kind of reminds me of how the US deals with Cuban refugees. If they are fond at sea they are returned to Cuba, if found on land, they are on arrested. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is in it’s own kettle of hot water over that. Recent reports indicate no change from Bush policies. Isn’t it amazing how many policies and plans from the Bush era that Obama promised to change, but is now claiming to be new and better? Like…when the troops are getting out of Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq, Nancy Pelosi is battling the CIA over interrogation briefings. News reports in 2002 quoted Congressmen as saying they received full briefings on CIA and other agencies actions. But, once the war began to drag on, losing public support, Democrats followed public opinion. They also began claiming they had no knowledge of actions that were going on in various places and organizations. Well, sooner or later, the truth comes out, as Pelosi is finding. Still, the number two Democrat, Stephen Hoyer, twisted the focus of the story away from Pelosi is making up stories to something else:

But Hoyer added that focusing on what had been told to lawmakers on interrogations was a distraction from the question of what techniques were used, and whether they were legal.

The point of the article, and the issue, is that Pelosi and other high ranking Democrats knew all along what was going on. But, the media and Leftists are spinning things to blur that focus.

(…soon, no one will care that Democrats lied…only that Bush did something wrong…just wait, you’ll see…)

Finally, I would like to weigh on the whole Cherios vs. the FDA thing. The media would have you believe that right wing crazies are rabidly claiming all kinds of things on this issue. It doesn’t matter that the same style of attacks are used by the Leftwing to demean right wing actions. Nor does it matter that most of the media claims are taken way out of context. It seems that America, and it’s government, has lost focus on something pretty important. The basic point of the FDA is that only drugs can be advertised as healing things. But, the truth is that drugs do not heal. They only help manage health. People worldwide have used diet to maintain health for millennia. So, at its core, the FDA claim is flawed. We seem to have forgotten that a proper diet, as opposed to the standard US diet, can maintain and help manage your health. Instead we believe the lie that we need all these drugs to keep us healthy. I do not deny there are circumstances where drugs are needed. But, we need to have a better focus on what drugs really do. They help manage health issues, but they do not heal them. The FDA needs to get it’s facts straight on that.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Spc. Robert Hamilton, from Corpus Christi, Texas, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, prepares to bandage the thumb of an Iraqi boy in Ula Market in Sadr City, April 19. The boy cut his thumb while preparing meat at a local butcher shop.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Reports on Friday and Saturday indicated that the Taliban is using civilians as human shields. This article seems to imply that this is a surprise. I fail to understand why it should be. This has been a tactic of intimidation used by every terrorist guerilla warfare group, at least in recent history--Hamas, the Taliban, all the way to Vietnam, Moa, Che Guevara, and even farther back in time. Unfortunately, the frightening part of the article is the last paragraph:

On Friday Karzai said "we cannot justify in any manner, for whatever number of Taliban, for whatever number of significantly important terrorists, the accidental or otherwise loss of civilians."

Like it or not, civilian suffering is a part of standing against evil. The Taliban, or whatever extremist group you care to name, will always use that suffering to get their opponents to stop fighting for fear of hurting innocent someone. They will try to plaster the media with how ugly the destruction is that gets “imposed by the good guys.” We must remember one very important thing. THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE SUFFERINGS OF OTHERS. And, extremeists will never be stopped if we put suffering or some other difficulty ahead of defeating those extremist groups. Taking President Karzai’s statement at face value would indicate he has already given up the will to fight. For the sake of our soldiers, and those of supporting nations, I hope not. If that occurs, Afghanistan will become another Vietnam for someone.

But, then again, given Thursday’s announcement that US troops won’t go to Pakistan just brought flashbacks of Vietnam to me. Any student of history knows that a big reason North Vietnam overcame the South was the ability to hide and build forces in Laos and Cambodia. The communist forces successfully controlled those other countries, and then used them as bases. With the take over of the Swat area and areas closer to Islamabad by militant forces, coupled with the inability of the Pakistani Army to turn back the tide (some reports indicate they are being complicit in the takeover), this is looking more and more like Vietnam. Contrary to popular media reports, Bush did indeed set us on the road to get out of Iraq. His timetable has become the same timetable that President Obama is using. The question now becomes: will Obama be able to get us out of Afghanistan without the disgrace we suffered in Vietnam?

Friday, May 08, 2009

Despite Ben Bernake’s news of increased consumer spending, things are not what they appear. According to The Economist, consumption will remain in a depressed state for years. Why?

Since the early 1980s, spending by households on goods, services and homes has grown faster than GDP, making it the locomotive of American—and global—expansion. By 2006 it accounted for 76% of nominal GDP, the highest since quarterly data begin in 1947.

It will likely remain depressed for the same reason we got into this mess: an ever increasingly credit driven economy. And that problem, by the way, is not one that governments are addressing. Instead, they are trying to increase the amount of available credit. Granted, there is a need for that in the short term. But, the long term solution for the credit mess is not being addressed at all. And that is going to be very bad.

Ultimately, it’s why the Chinese and other Asian countries own so much of America. And, lest we forget, so do the Arabs. Unfortunately, with their continued investment will likely come more Sharia Law requirements which banks will undoubtedly go for. Don’t think they will? Think again. Profits alone will drive them there. But, the western world is not being threatened by Islamic rules just in banking. Germany is facing this issue in their schools. But, that is nothing new. It’s been an ongoing battle in the U.S. for a few years. It was an unintended consequence of 9-11, to be sure. Of course, educators and teachers unions deny this is some soft form of indoctrination, but…

Thursday, May 07, 2009

There was a very interesting discussion of ”What Is Rich”. President Obama, and most Liberal politicians, intend to raise taxes on those making $250,000 or more. Unfortunately, that is a very arbitrary standard.

An income of $250,000 is a lot richer in Abilene, Texas, than in New York's Nassau County, where it takes $430,000 to enjoy a similar quality of life, according to bankrate.com. So let's call them the "working rich."

The other flaw in this idea is that the burden of these new taxes will actually fall on the “working rich” rather than the super rich, as all the political rhetoric implied. The “working rich” are, in reality, the upper middle class. It also needs to be remembered that taxing the rich doesn’t actually stimulate the economy,

Soaking the rich doesn't even seem to increase tax revenues. The top marginal tax rate has fluctuated wildly over the past 50 years, from 91% to 28%; it's now 35%. But individual tax revenue as a percent of GDP hasn't varied much at all - it hovers at about 8% - and its variations don't correlate with the top tax rate.

So, in reality, who is really getting soaked by President Obama’s new tax plan? It’s not the rich. Obama changed nothing, despite his rhetoric.

(…is anyone really surprised?...)

Meanwhile, U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank who did such an amazing job of wathing over the financial community (aka Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) wants to eliminate the ban on internet gambling in the US. Given that Frank has never been called on the carpet by the media for his misdeeds, this will probably be trumpeted as some noble cause by the media. In an effort to look good for the party, it should be noted that Frank is also pressing legislation to halt implementation of Bush administration anti-gambling laws.

"The government should not interfere with people's liberties," said Frank.

You have to admit that as he and the other Democratic leaders in Congress press on with increase nationalization and control of business, standing up for people’s liberties is kind of reversal. The sad part is that the European gambling firms have lost millions in recent times. So, this would not even make sense from a tax revenue standpoint. But, then again, if you put in line with Obama’s failure to tax the rich, it does make a sick sort of sense.

But, in a Reuters news report, the Democrats are telling more lies. Perhaps repeating the same lie would be more accurate in this case. This time, the lie-teller is new U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. On Wednesday, she made an appearance before Congress and stated that the new US Health Agency will “compete with private insurers rather than lead to a socialized system as Republicans claim.” Her statements fly in the face of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) Admission that Obama Healthcare Plan Will Destroy Insurance Industry. However, the report goes to great lengths to discuss to studies showing the need for urgent reform. Will the media ever get around to reporting this sort of thing properly?

Cerrone's men said in written statements of remembrance that he put their safety and welfare first. He lead from the front and all of the paratroopers would "unquestionably" follow him into battle.

His platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald H. Berryhill, said Cerrone was more than a leader, but a friend and "little brother."

He remembers the first day Cerrone got to the unit. At the time, he was shy and quiet. But after a few months, he became more outspoken.

"I am truly blessed to have known him and to serve under his leadership," Berryhill wrote. "He will never be forgotten. I will carry him with me always and I will always watch over his platoon. We will make him proud of his boys."

Sgt. Cerrone was killed when a suicide bomber detonated the bomb he had strapped to himself in Samarra, Iraq. Also killed in the attack was Specialist Harry "Buck" Winkler. You can read more at BLACKFIVE.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

So much for President Obama’s “tax credit for all” package. The way it was written, it is actually creating tax liabilities for the poor. And, more importantly, nothing is being done to let people know.

At-risk taxpayers include a broad swath of the public: married couples in which both spouses work; workers with more than one job; retirees who have federal income taxes withheld from their pension payments and Social Security recipients with jobs that provide taxable income.

The Internal Revenue Service acknowledges problems with the withholding tables but has done little to warn average taxpayers.

Retirees get the latest $250 SSN check deducted from their eligible “refund. College students may not get to claim it at all. Yet, this was hailed as a package that would provide for these very people.

Now, I am smart enough to realize people need to keep up with their own tax issues. But, the whole thing smells like a cheap public relations stunt. That is especially true since the government is saying nothing even though they knew in advance this would happen. So, how come no one is saying “Obama lied and ripped us off again.”

(…tell me again why people believe the Liberals really care about the poor…???...)

Mexico started a five-day shutdown of most offices and businesses on Friday to try to halt the spread of a deadly flu strain, and officials said they were encouraged by signs the number of new cases was dropping.

Does anyone really believe that a single day of closings brought an immediate drop to the number of cases? That’s as crazy closing schools in Texas in hopes of keeping disease from spreading. The kids will go to malls and daycare centers while their parents work. That is not the type of isolation required to stop the spread of a dangerous disease. The WHO (World Health Organization)…

said on Friday that no meeting of its emergency committee was scheduled, meaning there was no immediate likelihood of the current level 5 alert being raised to a full 'phase 6' pandemic alert.

In fact, only mild cases have occurred anywhere outside of Mexico, indicating the spread is relatively limited. According to this article, the number of new cases being reported by hospitals in Mexico in the last 10 days has dropped by some 75%. And, while 176 deaths so far is a lot, 13,00 flu deaths occur in the US each year. This is a very far cry from a lethal pandemic.

(…do I really want to ask how dumb the media and government think we are…)

The problem this type of media hype could create is horrifying. consider all the false warnings the media gives...on an ever increasing basis. As time goes on, people will probably pay less and less attention. And, then, one day, the media will get one right but no one will pay attention. People will probably blame God for the problems. But, in fact, they were created by men and God simply let us have what we created and did not bother to fix. I pity the millions who will probably die in those days. I also pity the punishment that awaits those who brought it on.

Friday, May 01, 2009

It seems that the Huffington Post is pulling out more stops (…I doubt all of them are pulled, by the way…) in their hate speech and denigration of Conservatives. A recent article paints Republican Party as a dying tyrant, mad with syphilis, ironically like that very Stalin they would accuse their enemies of associating with. Isn’t it interesting that using similar hate filled speech against Homosexuals, Immigrants, and a host of others would generate an outcry. But, not against those of opposing opinions…unless of course, you hold liberal opinions and a conservative disagrees with you. And, Liberals have the nerve to claim they are “open minded” and “fair” and..well…you get the idea.

Meanwhile, did you know the Democrats have openly said they are out to do in the insurance companies? You can watch the video for yourself…

Of course, it was pretty much given that this would happen as soon as the new agency was created to handle all that money. I doubt anyone is surprised by the announcement. We’ll see if liberals have overstepped their hand on that or not.

But, the big media circus, hiding all of this other “trivial stuff”, is the Swine Flu. Let’s put a few facts on the table before we go to far into that discussion. Did you know that some 13,000 people a year die of the flu in the United States under normal conditions? Did you know that according to the WHO:

30 April 2009 -- The situation continues to evolve rapidly. As of 17:00 GMT, 30 April 2009, 11 countries have officially reported 257 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

What a stunning world health threat! 257 total cases WORLDWIDE!!! It should also be noted, in light of this “sweeping pandemic” the media is foisting on us, that the World Health Organization is not even advising any travel restrictions. Pretty devastating stuff, don’t you think? Before you give in to the media hype, check your facts, then take action. At the very least, take time to present the facts to your local media outlets and officials.

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About Me

I am a 40 something father of five. I am former military, a singer, songwriter, fiction writer, and a youth hockey coach. I have worked in construction, and warehouse management. Due to an injury, I've had to take a desk job--so, now I'm a stockbroker. I love my family. I love my country. But, most of all, I love my God. OH, by the way, I work nights and weekend nights...so if my posts seem a little behind, you'll know why.